Ally Heintz

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Well, it looks like Ally ...

Well, it looks like Ally will not be able to feed for least another 2 weeks. Surgeons say that even though the barium passed through Ally's bowel on 5/26 faster than before the STEP procedure, it still is just sitting in the bowel, taking longer for her to pass it. This is because during the STEP procedure, surgeons made the bowel smaller than usual (1cm in diameter), knowing then it will dilate somewhat back to a more normal size. This will give the bowel better motility when she does feed.

To top it all off, Ally has a bacteria overgrowth in her bowel. She is currently receiving antibiotics for that now. She also has been retaining more fluid, possibly from the barium sitting in her bowel, backing things up. And finally last night she was running a 102 fever. Hopefully this is not a sign of infection.

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Sorry for the delay with ...

Sorry for the delay with the update. As you can imagine, Jill and I are very busy. Ally has had an up and down week these last 7 days.

The Good News: Ally's fistula (hole) in her bowel has closed on its own. Her belly is healing nicely, and she continues to be very happy. Yesterday, Ally had another upper GI test with barium to check for any more blockages. The barium moved through the bowel to the rectum just as it should.

The Not So Good News: Even though Ally's test with the upper GI shows that the bowel is moving the barium through, Ally continues to struggle with her own stomach secretions. Meaning she has been throwing up more than we want. As the week has progressed, Ally has been getting a little better. I think the surgeons are going to forge forward with feeding, and see how much Ally can handle. Check back later next week, for hopefully an update on feeding.

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Ally's surgeon was in today ...

Ally's surgeon was in today to see her, and gave her an upper GI test. This test, tracks barium through the intestine checking for any holes, and most importantly the amount of time it takes Ally to pass the barium.

The Good News: It took Ally about 4hrs. to pass the barium. The bowel is now able to move food along faster, meaning the STEP procedure was a success.

The Bad News: Ally does have a small fistula (hole) in her bowel. The surgeon said that she will not be able to feed Ally until the hole is closed. The procedure to close the hole, hopefully won't be to big of a deal. Look for an update on this later in the week.

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After the STEP Procedure

After the STEP Procedure

Ally's 87th day in the hospital started very well with Ally pleasantly awake, cooing and smiling at mommy and daddy. We took this as a good sign that she would now be on her way to better days. Shortly after our early morning visit with Ally we sent her off to surgery. This was of course not an easy task and each surgery has become more heart wrenching for all of us.

Surgery was slightly delayed and didn't get under way until about 10am. Somewhere around 3pm Ally's surgeon, the wonderful Dr. Katz, came to let us know how things had gone. She seemed pleased with the outcomes of the surgery and said overall she thought things went a little better than she had expected. Ally did have some issues with blood loss and received some blood during the procedure and after.

At the end of Ally's 2nd surgery she had approximately 56cm of small bowel. At the beginning of today's surgery her bowel measured approximately 69cm. Meaning Ally had 13cm of growth over the last 8 weeks. After surgery today her bowel approximately measured 81cm. Showing that the procedure not only narrowed her bowel but also lengthened it another 12cm. Finally, Dr. Katz was able to completely close Ally's abdomen and no stoma was necessary.

We are extremely grateful for everyday we get to spend with Ally and are especially grateful that she made it through yet another surgery with no major complications. Thank you to everyone for their prayers and please continue to pray for Ally's bowel to function normally. Also, we want to thank all the staff at Bryn Mawr that have cared for Ally and will continue to help her on her way to health.

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